PubliCola hears that supporters of a property-tax initiative to fund Seattle-only Metro service will drop their proposal to support a non-property-tax option backed by Mayor Ed Murray.

UPDATE: Keep Seattle Moving's Ben Schiendelman confirmed that he has suspended the signature-gathering effort for his Metro property tax measure.

We also hear that Mayor Murray has already rounded up at least five City Council members to support his Metro plan.

ORIGINAL POST:

PubliCola hears from multiple sources that Keep Seattle Moving's Ben Schiendelman is likely to drop a proposal to increase the city's property tax to fund Seattle-only Metro transit service and support Mayor Ed Murray's transit proposal, which will probably include a vehicle license fee and/or a sales tax increase, instead. Murray will announce the details of his proposal next Tuesday, PubliCola has heard.

Schiendelman and his group, Keep Seattle Moving, have been collecting signatures for a 22-cent Seattle-only property tax measure.

As we reported this morning, Murray opposes funding Metro through a property tax because he wants to reserve property tax funding for other local needs, including universal pre-kindergarten, a renewal of the housing levy, and a renewal of the Bridging the Gap levy.

We have a call out to Schiendelman. [See UPDATE, above.]

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